Traders at Agboju market in Festac Town have called on the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Amuwo Odofin Local Government (AOLG), to help relocate the market, to prevent incessant demolitions and losses.
The Market Leader, Mrs Osinatu Adebayo said in an interview on Wednesday in Lagos that the constant demolition exercises by the FHA had caused untold hardship and losses to the traders.
The traders are currently selling their wares on the streets; around 22 Road, Second Avenue, and walkways between Festac Town and Agboju area of the Badagry Expressway.
According to Adebayo, though FHA had allocated space for the market, at the Sixth Avenue area of Festac Town, the traders had not been able to gain access to the land.
She said the reason was that the land, and others in that area, were still in contention between the FHA and landowners, with the case still pending in court.
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She said the traders were not being uncooperative about relocating, adding that the last time about 100 of the traders went to survey the site, they were harassed and threatened by the landowners.
“They were throwing stones at us and threatened to behead us if we ever tried coming back there,” she said.
Adebayo said the land opposite the market was initially given to the traders, and they had gotten a contractor to help develop it but could not understand why the Council would not grant them access to it.
“Now we hear there are plans to sell the land,” she said.
Adebayo said the traders had sought the intervention of the Council Chairman, Mr Valentine Buraimoh, who insisted they were to move to Sixth Avenue and promised he would help them.
“We said he should take us there because the suffering here is too much.
“He said after the court session, he would ask FHA to take us there,” she said.
The market leader recalled that the last demolition exercise, which took place on April 9, was the worst experienced so far as a few traders were allegedly physically assaulted and some of their goods carted away.
She alleged that the exercise was carried out by FHA, a task force from Oshodi, who came with thugs and masked men.
“They carted some of our goods away, filling at least three vehicles which they stationed in front of the Eko Electricity Distribution Plc on Second Avenue.
“The ones they couldn’t carry away they crushed with their caterpillar.
“They beat up, tied, and arrested our security guard for trying to stop them from going away with our generator. I bailed him with N35,000 Naira.
“They used tear gas to disperse both traders and shoppers,” she said.
The market leader urged FHA and AOLG to come to their aid by providing a space that they could easily access.
A trader, Mr Uwaoma Ohanehi, said the traders were willing to move if given a space that they could access, to avoid them incurring frequent losses.
Ohanehi, who owns a boutique said he lost many of his goods during the last demolition exercise carried out at the market.
“We were not given prior warnings. They came with masked men, who had colored hairs and thugs that were brandishing cutlasses and broken bottles, beating and tying up people,” he said.
He urged the council and FHA to relocate the market so the traders could earn their living without fear of harassment or frequent losses.
On Sep. 23, 2021, the Managing Director of FHA, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, handed over the site of the six acres of Mechanic Village/Market in Festac Town to the artisans.
Ashafa, who was represented by Mr Akintola Olagbemiro, FHA South-West Zonal Manager said it was in line with his promise to restore the lost glory of Festac Town.
“The value chain they add to the economy is quite enormous, owing to the many jobs and employment they create through service delivery,” he said.
The Chief of Staff of the AOLG, Mr Olusegun Idris said that the council had been making efforts to help the traders and also made suggestions that could help them.
“About two weeks ago the chairman was at FHA to discuss with them and find a lasting solution to the problem and they said there is nothing they can do.
“They will be periodically asking the task force to come there to remove them. They want that place to be free.
“We’ve met with the market leader and told her to find an alternative.
“There is nothing we can do because we’re also tenants, FHA owns the land and if they say, ‘this is what they want to do,’ there’s little we can do,” he said.
Idris said the council had suggested that while the court case between FHA and the landowners was still pending, the traders could relocate to the 23 Road market or others around them.
He said the chairman had gone further to start talking with the landowners on behalf of the traders so that whichever way the case was decided, they would still have an opportunity to have a market situated at Sixth Avenue.